It was a double celebration for trainer Samuel Smith at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night (July 22).
He clinched Trainer of the Meet honours when Handsoffmytitos ($3.70 to win) won the fourth race in 1:54.1, which gave him an insurmountable lead over David Russo. Smith, who won his first Buffalo Raceway training crown tonight, finished the season with 49 wins while Russo finished with 45.
The party in the Smith stable then got into high gear three races later in the $15,500 Open Pace as One Off Delight A ($7.80) notched his third straight victory with a three-quarter-length win over American Trademark in 1:52.4, tying his lifetime best.
Both Handsoffmytitos and One Off Delight A were driven by Jim Morrill Jr.
In the Open Pace, Idealthecards wanted to cut the fractions and did so with splits of :27.1, :55.1 and 1:23.4 over the "fast" track. Turning for home, it was shaping to be a match race between Idealthecards and American Trademark. But someone forgot to tell One Off Delight A, who was sixth and last with a marker to go.
One Off Delight A zipped through the gap between Idealthecards and American Trademark to pull off the victory, leaving the front-runners in disbelief. A final quarter of :28.2 by One Off Delight A proved to be the dagger. This was the ninth runner-up finish for American Trademark this year.
The win was the fourth in 23 starts for the nine-year-old One Off Delight A (Bettors Delight-Tiger Su), owned by Michael Torcello. The victory upped his 2023 bankroll to $55,810 and lifetime earnings to $357,517.
In the $15,500 Open Trot, J S Hopscotch ($15.40) led gate to wire and cruised to an easy 2-1/4-length victory over I Got The Looks in 1:57.3.
Starting from post two, J S Hopscotch benefited from the heavily favoured Jacked, who broke off stride from the pylons. This allowed J S Hopscotch to easily assume the lead and never look back.
Stomping off splits of :29.4, :59.2 and 1:29, J S Hopscotch found no challengers down the home stretch and cruised home. I Got The Looks won the battle for the minor spoils with Buffalo Raceway 'Trotter of the Meet' Muskingum taking the show position.
Owned by the Rags To Riches of PA LLC and conditioned by Tammy Cummings, five-year-old J S Hopscotch (Mr Web Page-Better Than Dreams) made his sixth trip to the winner's circle in 26 outings. The win moved his seasonal earnings to $60,312 and lifetime bankroll to $152,552.
Kevin Cummings had three victories on the evening to give him 100 wins on the season at Buffalo Raceway while Joseph Chindano Jr., Ray Fisher Jr. and Jim Morrill Jr. all had driving doubles on closing night. Angelo Nappo had three training scores with Chindano Jr. and Smith getting two victories.
It was the season finale for Buffalo Raceway. Simulcasting will continue on Sunday (July 23) then will close until Feb. 2024.
(Buffalo Raceway)